Meaning & use

finagle

verb·Everyday

To obtain or achieve something by clever, indirect, or slightly dishonest means.

See it in a sentence

He managed to finagle a front-row seat by chatting up the usher.

She finagled an extra day off by rearranging her meeting schedule.

A note on using this word

Finagle is informal and usually implies mild trickery rather than serious wrongdoing; it is often used playfully.

Words with a similar meaning

wanglemaneuver

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “finagle”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.